1) Place the ground venison and ground pork in a large mixing bowl.2) Mix the water and liquid smoke together and pour over the meat.3) Sprinkle dry ingredients over meat.4) Mix with your hands until all ingredients are very well incorporated.

5) Cover and chill in your refrigerator for 24 hours.6) Uncover and mix very well again.

7) Heat oven to 325 degrees. 8) Equally divide meat mixture into 3 balls.9) Evenly roll each ball into a ďVenison logĒ approximately 12 inches long by 2 inches in diameter. 10) Place the logs on a broiler pan and bake for 1 hour (160 degrees internal temperature)

11) Pat each log with paper towels to help remove any excess grease.12) Place on wire cooling rack.13) Dab with paper towels while cooling if needed to remove any excess grease.

Once cooled, wrap well and keep chilled. Can be frozen.

Slice and serve with cheese and crackers, fresh fruit, condiments or my favorite, just by itself.

Note: I have used ground sirloin with great results when no venison was available.

If you want to improve on the recipe, ditch the tender quick (it's used for tenderizing whole muscle meat, not ground). The final product will be much less salty and better for you. Pink Salt is what you want for ground meat.

Besides, most recipes call for 1-1.5 TEASPOONS per pound of GROUND meat, and 1 TABLESPOON for whole meat. Since its made for a whole meat application, it's hard to "guess" how much to really use with ground.

Also, since I don't see it noted here.. this product has NO PRESERVATIVES, curing is NOT PRESERVING. So eat it in 4 days or freeze it. You could vac seal it and probably be good for a week in the fridge. Seen a few people go to the ER after eating homemade deer sticks that they thought could sit in the fridge for a month.

If you REALLY want to make some good trail bologna (what you made), look for the LEM Backwoods brand seasonings.

My understanding is that curing meat by definition is a way to preserve meat by the addition of salt, nitrates, and nitrites.

I thought Salting, Smoking, and Drying were all methods of preserving.

I like Venison Logs over Trail Bologna, but either way its a type of sausage.

I looked on Morton's website and they state that Morton's Tender Quick is a preserving agent and not a tenderizer.

They also list several recipes that include using Morton's tender Quick with ground meat.On the first recipe they call for 1 1/2 teaspoons of tender quick plus 1 teaspoon of table salt per pound of ground meat.

I use a similar recipe but put the meat in collagen casings and smoke to a internal 165 degree temperature. I just use the tender quick and no salt. 1 1/2 teaspoons per lb. This makes sure no botulism takes place but it doesn't cure the meat. I've kept it for a couple weeks in the refrigerator but it's bet to vacuum pack and freeze.

My understanding is that curing meat by definition is a way to preserve meat by the addition of salt, nitrates, and nitrites.

I thought Salting, Smoking, and Drying were all methods of preserving.

I like Venison Logs over Trail Bologna, but either way its a type of sausage.

I looked on Morton's website and they state that Morton's Tender Quick is a preserving agent and not a tenderizer.

They also list several recipes that include using Morton's tender Quick with ground meat.On the first recipe they call for 1 1/2 teaspoons of tender quick plus 1 teaspoon of table salt per pound of ground meat.

Personally I like the recipe but I do agree it may be a bit heavy on the salt.

I also agree that proper refrigeration, cooking temps, food prep and other best methods of cooking are important.

The best part of conflicting information is that it gives us a chance to dig and do some research.

Good Luck All

You are curing the meat, not preserving. Look at the back of a slim jim at all the nasty chemicals- those are in there to preserve it so it can sit on the shelf for a year. You don't want any part of this! The native americans used to cut their meat into thin strips (no refrigeration) and lay them over sticks above their fire to smoke them. Then put them in rawhide bags (again, no refrigeration or sanitation) and consume later. They were technically preserving the meat for later, but they also had a life expectancy of 30. Now we use smokers and still can't keep jerky from going bad quickly. I believe they just ate the rancid stuff enough that their guts could handle it.

Tender quick is a curing agent, I misspoke and had "tender" in my mind so I put tenderizer by mistake. They are stretching it saying preserving agent, but I'm sure it is used as such along with other ingredients.

1 1/2 tsp for ground is what most people use. I cannot believe your logs are not very salty with the recipe being 3x that! I made a batch of trail bologna with it once and could barely eat it, which is why i went to pink salt and have had no issues. I use it for everything from smoked sausage to snack sticks, to bologna, to summer sausage.

I have 15lbs of deer sticks in the smoker as I am typing this, all of the cured meats are pretty much the same thing just with a slight alteration in spices and stuffed in different casings. These are with LEM backwoods jerky seasonings and stuffed into 21mm casings. But again, all of this smoked cured meat is NOT PRESERVED! It's good for about 4 days in a ziplock bag, a week to a week and a half in a vacuum sealed bag in the fridge, and well over a year vacuum sealed and in the freezer. I vac seal these sticks the day after I smoke them into serving size packs. They taste the same when thawed, the casings just get soft. Your logs should not change at all after being frozen.

You are curing the meat, not preserving. Look at the back of a slim jim at all the nasty chemicals- those are in there to preserve it so it can sit on the shelf for a year. You don't want any part of this! The native americans used to cut their meat into thin strips (no refrigeration) and lay them over sticks above their fire to smoke them. Then put them in rawhide bags (again, no refrigeration or sanitation) and consume later. They were technically preserving the meat for later, but they also had a life expectancy of 30. Now we use smokers and still can't keep jerky from going bad quickly. I believe they just ate the rancid stuff enough that their guts could handle it.

Tender quick is a curing agent, I misspoke and had "tender" in my mind so I put tenderizer by mistake. They are stretching it saying preserving agent, but I'm sure it is used as such along with other ingredients.

1 1/2 tsp for ground is what most people use. I cannot believe your logs are not very salty with the recipe being 3x that! I made a batch of trail bologna with it once and could barely eat it, which is why i went to pink salt and have had no issues. I use it for everything from smoked sausage to snack sticks, to bologna, to summer sausage.

I have 15lbs of deer sticks in the smoker as I am typing this, all of the cured meats are pretty much the same thing just with a slight alteration in spices and stuffed in different casings. These are with LEM backwoods jerky seasonings and stuffed into 21mm casings. But again, all of this smoked cured meat is NOT PRESERVED! It's good for about 4 days in a ziplock bag, a week to a week and a half in a vacuum sealed bag in the fridge, and well over a year vacuum sealed and in the freezer. I vac seal these sticks the day after I smoke them into serving size packs. They taste the same when thawed, the casings just get soft. Your logs should not change at all after being frozen.

I have checked numerous resources. If you check the Internet, with coworkers, a Butcher or even your local Smokehouse, they will all tell you that the very definition of Cured Meat, Salted Meat, Smoked Meat or Dehydrated meat is a process used to preserve meat.

This of course does not mean that it should not be kept refrigerated, handled properly, or that it will last forever. It will however extend the shelf life.

I agree Slim Jims and other meats that are kept a room temperature are full of chemical preservatives to accomplish this and they may last more than a year.

ďMorton Tender Quick mix contains salt, the main preserving agent; sugar, both sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite, curing agents that also contribute to development of color and flavor; and propylene glycol to keep the mixture uniform.Ē

Some preserved meats will last longer than others, depending on the meat and the method in which it was preserved.

Got involved a few decades ago with an established neighborhood group making venison summer sausage. Crude business to start. All mixed by hand on a "sanitized" table, turned into a leaky cast iron stuffer and squeezed out into casings for cold smoking. Yep, you heard right cold. This stuff never sees higher than 120F max and usually is held to 100F or less. This year it was done in 56 hours. Used to think venison sausage was a waste of perfectly good fresh meat but no more.

'Bout 10 - 11 years ago, after I'd become very comfortable with the process my buddy (the sausage wizard) asked me if I knew why it was called "summer sausage". I said, "I dunno" (if you can imagine that). He told me that this recipe was designed to be made during the hunting season and last through the summer without refrigeration. "What??? No way!", I said. He took a stick of sausage fresh from the smokehouse and hung it on a nail in the garage. "We'll eat that next year when you come up to make sausage", he said.

"Right", I'm thinking, "I wanna die young."

Well next year rolled around and we all assembled for the annual ritual and Bill took the sausage off the nail and pounded it on the counter. "Whadda ya think?" he asked.

"I think if you hit someone with that you'd kill 'em", I said. And you would have... I observed it was all white on the out side and called "mold!". He said wet your finger, wipe it and taste. Tell me again. Of course, it was salt. This thing started out as a 2.5" diameter sausage and by the following December, unrefrigerated, it could have been sliced for pepperoni. We ate the whole stick. Very different from "fresh smoked" but very good in it's own way. We've done this every year since with no one getting sick.

Very simple recipe:

Willardís Surprise Summer Sausage

This is the recipe we have come to use in making venison summer sausage. It is based on an old (old) family recipe from the Ashippun, Wisconsin area and is best cold smoked. This base recipe makes 25# of sausage. Use 60% venison and 40% lean pork (that's 15# venison and 10# pork per batch). We've also used 100% lean beef (like ground round) or beef and pork in the same ratio as venison to pork.

1 cup kosher salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup black pepper (you can double pepper if you like it like that)

1 tsp pink cure

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground thyme

Options (for 25# batch):

5 tsp garlic

1/3 cup mustard seed

I have added 1 Tb Habanero powder for hot sausage About 1 tsp per 10# is average heat.

Combine all the dry ingredients thoroughly. Add to mixed meat and mix. When partially integrated add one cup of cold water and finish mixing very well. Allow to stand for 30 minutes to 2 hours (it'll stiffen up considerably). Load the stuffer and put into 2.5" casings. let hang overnight to dry, place in a cool/warm smokehouse until color is through the stick, usually 2 - 3 days. Pull and hang for another 5 - 20 days depending on the dryness desired. Wrap and freeze.

Or, pull some fresh sausage, make a patty and fry in a pan. Very different and very good.

What have I learned? Salt, sugar and smoke all contribute to a "cure". We use the pink salt because we can and it doesn't hurt a thing plus adding an extra margin of safety. You can eat raw venison and raw pork unrefrigerated a year later and be perfectly fine. I'd call it preserved, maybe even "mummified".

So, what you read and what you think you know may now be up for examination. When someone told me this 30 years ago I thought they were nuts. Now, I know better. What's changed? Got a real motorized meat mixer, a nice F. Dick 30# stuffer and a hog ring pliers. Real 20th century stuff... Other than that,it's still Old World sausage.

Thanks for reminding me of this Joe. I've seen similar stuff before and always intended to try it but then I forget.

If you like hot a teaspoon of the habanero per 8# still is not too hot for even "polite company" unless they're very sensitive to heat. If you're looking for heat it's just right without overdoing it. Do be cautious with the powder, it tends to drift around and burn whatever it touches. Get some on face then rub your eyes. Won't hurt ya, just feels like it does.

That sounds like a great recipe esox. REAL summer sausage, pepperoni, and various other meats have been preserved that way for years. But like you said, very different than the "meat log" or anything I make.

You don't need to bring meat up to the 165 internal temp, lots of guys cold smoke sausages. As long as you have the proper PH and salinity, the bacteria will be killed. Pepperoni is smoked at about 100 degrees and then left to dry out for weeks to months. But that takes knowledge of what you are doing, for the home chef, bring it to 165- especially if you add any store purchased fat or meat.

That sounds like a great recipe esox. REAL summer sausage, pepperoni, and various other meats have been preserved that way for years. But like you said, very different than the "meat log" or anything I make.

You don't need to bring meat up to the 165 internal temp, lots of guys cold smoke sausages. As long as you have the proper PH and salinity, the bacteria will be killed. Pepperoni is smoked at about 100 degrees and then left to dry out for weeks to months. But that takes knowledge of what you are doing, for the home chef, bring it to 165- especially if you add any store purchased fat or meat.

Yes it does sound great, and hanging on the wall for a year certainly does make it very different than ďFresh SmokedĒ.

I completely agree that proper levels of salt, nitrite and nitrate will kill Botulinum and a host of other nasty things. Regardless if itís cold smoked, hot smoked or not smoked. And meat with lower PH levels can help with nitrite burn if itís an issue.

You may not use Mortonís Tender Quick and prefer Pink Salt instead. Which is fine, to each their own, but the ingredients are very similar. Of course pink salts contain more nitrites and nitrates so less is required, but a lot of the recipes I've seen also call for added table salt along with the pink salt.

Awesome thread here! Love me some smoked meats. I would avoid any nitrates or nitrites, these are linked to colorectal cancer.

As far as the nitrates/nitrites go I wouldn't be too alarmed unless you're eating good amounts of this stuff everyday. I eat bacon twice a week, cured sausage and hot sticks when I want to. I successfully deferred my first c-scope for an entire decade (till I was 60) and was pronounced "squeaky clean" by the no-sense-of-humor doc. Nothing to even biopsy, see me again in ten years.

Or maybe it's just the daily doses of weaponized hot peppers and tequila...

Seriously, it's like HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), not intrinsically evil in and of itself. But you can get too much if you're not mindful of the processed foods you frequent.

John: Ariel's got me on a diet because the doc said my cholestorol's a little too high.

Grandpa: Well let me tell you something now, Johnny. Last Thursday, I turned 95 years old. And I never exercised a day in my life. Every morning, I wake up, and I smoke a cigarette. And then I eat five strips of bacon. And for lunch, I eat a bacon sandwich. And for a midday snack?

John: Bacon.

Grandpa: Bacon! A whole d*** plate! And I usually drink my dinner. Now according to all of them flat-belly experts, I should've took a dirt nap like thirty years ago. But each year comes and goes, and I'm still here. Ha! And they keep dyin'. You know? Sometimes I wonder if God forgot about me. Just goes to show you, huh?

John: What?

Grandpa: Huh?

John: Goes to show you what?

Grandpa: Well it just goes... what the he11 are you talkin' about?

John: Well you said you drink beer, you eat bacon and you smoke cigarettes, and you outlive most of the experts.

Grandpa: Yeah?

John: I thought maybe there was a moral.

Grandpa: No, there ain't no moral. I just like that story. That's all. Like that story.